Corazon
by vollkommenheit
Summary: the heart. character drabbles. chapter two: larry butz.
1. shi long lang

A/N: this is what you get after, like... a year of not writing.

be warned. thanks for reading:)

o n e: **Shi-Long Lang**

**i.**

The Lang family had many unspoken rules- rules that Lang Zi did not mention; and upholding its honor was one of them.

When that prosecutor (_damned_ _prosecutors_) had decided to tamper with that evidence, that fatal piece of evidence one of the Lang detectives had found, that very honor was destroyed and Shi-Long had swore to it that it would never happen again. But with every person he met, every new investigator that could possibly get in the way, a new path of danger was unfolded and posed a threat to what Lang had worked so hard to achieve.

Shi-Long Lang would never admit to feeling scared; but even hardest and toughest of men have their fears.

**ii.**

He has scars. Scars all over his body, from many different occasions, mostly depicting how frighteningly close he's come to being seriously, or even fatally hurt. None of them made any difference to Lang, though; that was what he was famous for, after all. It was well known throughout Interpol that many a time he'd been forcibly dragged into a hospital for some terrible wound of some sort, growling and protesting all the way. It was a _fact _among the forces that if Lang wanted something, Lang would get it. This applied to criminals as well; there was a reason they called him the Wolf of Zheng Fa, and this was it. Lang didn't care if he got hurt in the process; all that mattered to him was conviction.

**iii. **

He'll never forget how brightly the moon shone the night he met her.

Maybe it was the way the light reflected in her crimson eyes, or maybe he just liked the way she grinned at him as she told him her name. Either way, something about her drew him in, and before he knew it he was trusting her with his life-

He regretted every second.

**iv. **

She had sat there, face showing no emotion whatsoever, as he had tried to keep himself from screaming.

To think he'd trusted her for all these years, listened to all her well-spun lies- he almost had to stop himself from agreeing with her when she calmly called him an idiot. A well-meaning, kind-hearted, compassionate idiot. The woman he had respected, the woman who had stolen everything of his- his respect, his trust, his esteem, his love- was the one who had betrayed him.

As he marched her into jail, dragging her by her cuffed wrists, ignoring the cries of _Shifu, stop! You're bleeding!_, there was only one thing left he was sure of.

Shi-Long Lang would never make the same mistake again.

**v. **

Many men would be proud to be seen as fierce and intimidating; but Lang isn't sure if that's what he wants.

Sure, he has to be at least somewhat threatening if he wants any chance of striking fear into the hearts of would-be criminals- but sometimes he gets sick of watching his subordinates fret over his every last request like they're death threats. Sometimes he wishes that his whole life didn't revolve around upholding his family's honour and scaring people to death, but he knows he needs to face reality; he's Shi-Long Lang, the Wolf of Zheng Fa, and there's nothing he can do to change it. He knows that this is his life. He's been hurt, used, spyed on, betrayed-

He looks into the mirror, baring his dangerously sharp teeth, and grins.


	2. larry butz

A/N: I forgot the disclaimer. oops. i don't own ace attorney or any of its characters. still.

thank you for reading. :)

t w o: **Larry Butz**

**i. **

He isn't a bad person, just an unlucky one. He thinks it would be nice if his life was something more than a string of failed relationships, failed jobs, failed dreams- but he's grateful for what he has, and as long as he has a roof over his head and enough money to get by, he's happy.

Larry accepts that he's never going to do great things, although he does wonder what it would be like to have a purpose in life.

**ii.**

Larry feels terrible whenever he gets himself a new girlfriend, because he _knows_ that within a week or two (at the most), it'll be over. It's almost routine, a sad monotony he's come to accept as his life. He'll mope a bit after she dumps him (or he dumps her, depending on whether he gets bored), then he'll forget her entirely because a new girl has come along and she's a model too (except this one has got prettier hair, he notices).

When he looks down at the girl on his arm, he reminds himself to smile and enjoy it while it lasts.

**iii. **

When he was little, he dreamt of being a superhero when he grew up, somebody who would use their magic powers to swoop in and save the day at the last minute.

Now he is grown up, it depresses him to realize that he's the one who usually needs saving.

**iv. **

Every time Larry runs into Nick (usually for the wrong reasons), he's reminded of what he's become. The shy, socially awkward boy that he knew as his friend from grade school is now a famous, successful defense lawyer- he's even got his own office and assistant. Phoenix Wright, Larry realizes, is everything he had ever aspired to be. The closest to a superhero as anyone could get.

Larry looks at his own mess of a life, and wonders where it all went wrong.

**v.**

When Larry discovers art, his whole life changes.

With every stroke of the brush he feels the pain and stress slowly ebbing away until he's completely serene, letting the rhythm of his hands take charge to produce a magical world of colour on the canvas, his troubles flowing right out of him and taking form as the paint on his brush. He's creating masterpieces worthy of any art gallery, smiling as he sits back to admire his work, feeling more at peace with himself than ever.

It's not perfect, but it's more than he's ever had, and he's grateful.


End file.
